Ramadan, a month of fasting for Muslims, is expected to begin on Thursday (Mar 23).
HIGHER DEMAND
The Association of Muslim Travel Agents Singapore estimated that up to 5,000 Singaporeans will be performing the Umrah during Ramadan, which ends on Apr 21.
Mr Muhammad Ahmad, manager of Hahnemann Travel & Tours, said demand for tour packages in this season has gone up by about 40 per cent from the same period last year.
His firm will be bringing three groups of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
Mr Muhammad said they started receiving registrations for Umrah trips from as early as November last year.
The pilgrimage tours now carry a larger price tag of up to S$7,000 per person, which is around 30 per cent more than before, said Mr Muhammad.
His firm tries to keep the prices as low as possible for the pilgrims.
“We either enter Mecca or Madinah earlier, so as to keep the cost low, or we move to a different hotel that has a better pricing, so that we can cater to the masses, and then they will not feel the pinch of the heavy increase in prices,” he said.